East Boast Blackout

The NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's day/night band measures light emanating from the ground showing human settlements and industrial activity, and also moonlight reflected off of clouds. The image on the left was taken on October 21, 2012, an evening of a waxing crescent moon with little cloud cover over the northeastern US. The image on the right was taken in the early morning of November 1, 2012, two days after a full moon. Hurricane Sandy's impact on the region can be seen clearly by comparing these two images.